Category Archives: Brenden

Snowmageddon Dallas 2010

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snowman

Although it definitely caused problems for some, we were delighted by Thursday’s record snowfall! We mostly stayed inside on Thursday while it fell, admiring out the window and getting some painting and other work done inside. I did take Brenden out front briefly and showed him how to make and throw a snowball. From then on, his favorite word (other than “no”) became “ball”. Brenden loved looking out the window and kept saying, “No! No!” (which, in this context, means snow)

Thursday night I took some pictures during the last few hours of the snowfall. On Friday we bundled up and actually played in the snow. Brenden got to walk around in snow for the first time and helped me build our first snowman. He was a great sport for a while until his hands got cold and wet. Jonathan made a brief trip outside but spent most of the afternoon inside with Jenny. Here are some of our pictures:

Snowmageddon Dallas 2010 pictures

Helpless

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I don’t have as much time to blog these days, as you’ve probably noticed, but I have a chance tonight. Life with two boys under two is about what we had expected: exciting and fun but difficult at times. Since Jonathan is such a well-mannered and healthy baby, it seems a bit easier than I had expected. However, both of us are very tired – Jenny because she gets woken up throughout the night, me because I spend much of my day taking care of Brenden and then insist on staying up too late so I can have some man-cave time.

I got to thinking about babies over the past several days. Although very cute, they are extremely unproductive (except for diapers) and completely dependent on others for survival. Compared to their caretakers, they have very little understanding of the world and how it works. Their world revolves around a few simple needs: milk, sleep, love, clean diapers, and shelter. As a parent, I know so much more about life and have so much to give my newborn son, but he isn’t ready to take it all in yet. For example, I watched the Colts-Jets game with him and tried to tell him about how great Peyton Manning is, and how he might never remember getting to see Manning play, but he had no clue. I have to remember that he and I are on completely different levels, so I must be very patient and try to help him in ways that he can handle.

I’ll bet that to God, I look the same way that my newborn son looks to me. Despite all I’ve seen, learned, and done in my 31 years, I still understand only a tiny fraction of God’s universe. He and I are on completely different levels, so He must be very patient with me as I fumble through my few short years here. Sometimes I do things that seem perfectly reasonable to me but make God shake His head. Maybe He sighs. Maybe He laughs like we do at Brenden every day. He remains patient with me and tries to help me in ways that I can handle. And I love Him for it.

Long before I ever became a father or even married Jenny, I explored these two relationships in a poem called “Helpless”. I included it on my Recent Poetry page, but I’ll repost it here for convenience in case you’re a poetry buff.

Helpless
10-29-01

I am a baby in your arms
Squishy and fussy and squirming
for my eyes are too small to see.

Helpless I lie on your breast
Having nothing I gained on my own
And yet fighting with every small ounce of my strength
Thinking I could do better alone.
You patiently smile when I kick you
Don’t get mad when I will not obey
When I find I don’t have all the answers
We sit down and you show me the way.
Why do you love when I cry all night
And keep you awake with my screams?
Why do you rock me and kiss my face
And make me believe in my dreams?
Every time I soil myself again
You pick me up and tell me it’s okay
Although it’s always hard on you and me
Somehow you know I’m going to learn someday.
I know not, Daddy, what I do
I spill my milk, I scratch my face
I scribble on my nursery walls
Thick marks I can’t erase.
But somehow Daddy’s love is greater
Than the promise I can’t keep
And still you’re with me, safe and strong
And finally, in your arms, I sleep.

Babymoon

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On our last weekend before all hell breaks loose our second son is born, Jenny and I are planning a short babymoon. We’ll drop Brenden off at my parents’ house Friday afternoon and then spend the next 24 hours or so alone, the calm before the storm. Don’t worry, we’re not going far, just to a nice hotel in Dallas that has an indoor heated pool. That was Jenny’s main request because pools + preggoes = joy. We have no major plans other than to spend large amounts of time in the pool, get lots of rest, enjoy some good food, and maybe walk the Galleria like we did just before Brenden was born. So don’t expect any blog posts, Words with Friends plays, or texts from us. We are out of service!

Brendenese

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We talk to Brenden a lot. Jenny tries to give him a running commentary on whatever she’s doing if he’s nearby. Mommy is making a sandwich. This is a banana. You like bananas. What color is Mommy’s shirt? That sort of thing. I try to talk to him about events – what we did today, whom we’re going to see tomorrow.

We picked it up from our friend Renee. Traditionally, some adults like to use baby-talk with very young children and even some older children. They use a higher pitch and speak a mixture of real words and nonsense, assuming they don’t understand. I never really thought about it until we watched Renee talking to her kids. She spoke to them like they were real people who understood every word she said. Obviously, she knew they didn’t, but apparently they understood plenty. We were really impressed with how eloquent they were as a result. So we’re trying the same approach with Brenden.

His vocabulary has really increased over the last month or so. He says some things consistently now, such as Momma, Dadda, YaYa, water (wa-wa), Elmo (Mel-mo) and mower (mow-mow). On occasion he also says many other semi-distinguishable words, including Holly (Ha-ye), Jedda (Edda), cracker, and pretty. Sometimes he says a word once very clearly but won’t say it again for any reason. He won’t say most words on command because he’s stubborn and doesn’t want to be our trained monkey, but we keep trying. Naturally, he says plenty that leaves us scratching our heads and nodding blankly. However, between his words, pointing, and baby sign language, he can often get his message across. Mealtime is one of the hardest times because he can’t say the words for most foods. He points in a general direction, signs “please”, and depends on us to figure him out.

What really amazes me, though, is how much he can understand. We ask him if he wants a particular food that he’s had before, and he might tell us yes or no, and his answer generally corresponds to whether he’ll actually eat it that day. I can give him simple instructions, such as “go show Mommy the mail”, and often he’ll do it. (if he feels like it, of course) We can ask him if he needs a diaper change or wants to go to bed and get an answer. We’re having a blast trying to teach him English and watching him learn it.